Richard Chai: Pants, Shorts, and (Occasionally) Impractical Layers

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If this morning's Richard Chai presentation at Lincoln Center is anything to go by, we won't have to choose between pants or shorts come next spring...Because, really, why not just wear both?

Chai's breezy 2011 vision included unlikely (and occasionally impractical) layers, layers, and more layers, with a recurring shorts-n-pants combo trouser that is either the coolest or the silliest warm weather concept we've ever witnessed on the runway.

His warm, sandy color palette of buff, steel grey and pink nude gave the collection an air of fluidity and sophistication, and well-suited for a cliffside community of reclusive (yet stylish) artists...or maybe a high-maintenance trip to Saint Tropez.

Highlights from the collection included a pair of sheer, ruched, buff-colored leggings, which worked best layered beneath Chai's signature lightweight tunics and dresses. Come spring, however, we think the most practical purchase would be one of his floaty chalk-washed cupro fabric trenches, which trailed after his runway models like little silk ghosts.